Du Islinger
by Alfa-Istalri
Summary: My Fanfiction about after the cycle, set 50 years after cycle with some ExA and the return of old enemies.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi guys this is my first FanFic so i have no idea if it will be any good so any pointers or constructive criticism will be much appreciated and reviews are also very encouraging feel free to private message me if you have any questions. I have no idea how often i will be uploading as im fairly busy with exams, school, sports etc. but i'll do uploads as much as i possibly can, so thanks for taking the time to read this and please do review.**_  
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_Eragons eyes opened but felt heavy and threatened to slam shut again at any moment. He attempted to stand but found his body would not respond, he next attempted to call out to anyone around but again found he could not. The room he was in was dark and felt as though it had never had light shine upon it. The smell was heavy with the smell of mould and small mushrooms had begun to sprout between cracks in the floor tiles._

_It was then that Eragon noticed the shape of a shadowy figure barely visible against the darkness that seemed to cling to his figure. The figure seemed to be part of the darkness and draw strength from it._

_The shadow suddenly seemed to become aware of Eragons stare and turned to face him with a glare that was full of both loathing and evil._

"_Ah, kingkiller you finally join us." The shadow growled as if it struggled to spit out the word kingkiller._

"_I was just having a discussion with Saphira here about the best way to destroy you both as you destroyed me!" _

_Eragon was amazed by this thing as he could not understand how this thing could be holding them prisoner if they had destroyed it. _

_But these thoughts were quickly forgotten as he tried to communicate mentally with Saphira._

"_Saphira, Saphira can you hear me?" he screamed in his mind_

_Silence, He could feel nothing of his partner of heart and mind. Why could he not sense her? What had this shadow creature done to him and Saphira so that they could no longer communicate, his first thoughts was that he had been drugged but he could still remember the ancient language although he could use no spells_

_For the first time in many years he was truly scared! His mind was a confused mish-mash of thoughts, memories and emotions. Too many for him to focus on a single one, all swirling around his mind at once like the rapids of a river. _

"_Why not just give up rider?" Hissed the shadow "you are at my mercy now, not that you'll receive much from me!" _

_Eragon had a strange feeling that he had heard that voice before but could not quite remember, And the more he tried to think of it the more it seemed to slip away._

"_I'm going to enjoy this rider" It said with glee_

_The shadow began to stride towards Eragon evidently savouring the moment when he would bring Eragons life to an end._

_When he reached Eragon he stood over him and allowed himself a twisted attempt at a smile as if it was something he struggled with even in his moment of victory. He then raised his sword to stab Eragon through the heart._

"_**NOOOOOOOO!"**_

_Came a shout from out of Eragons eyesight and like a blur a figure that seemed to radiate light charged the shadow and seemed to dispel most of the darkness that engulfed the room until only the darkness clinging to the shadow remained. Suddenly the room was filled with the clash of swords as the shadow just managed to raise its sword in time to block the slice to its chest before countering with a lightning fast thrust towards the heart of Eragons saviour but just as quick the saviour flicked the sword away milliseconds from being impaled by the shadows sword. _

_On they thought for several minutes of attack and defence with swordsmanship and gracefulness the like of which Eragon had never seen but suddenly the shadow lost its balance and stumbled barely keeping on its feet, quick as a flash Eragons saviour pounced to finish the fight with one swift, decisive slash to sever the shadows head from its neck._

_But suddenly faster than the eye could follow the shadow sprang forward and thrust its sword deep into the chest of the saviour._

_A soft cry came from the mouth of the saviour as it fell to the ground facing Eragon and he saw two striking green eyes staring at him as the twinkle of life began to fade so too did Eragons vision as he passed into nothingness._

Eragon opened his eyes again but this time found himself staring at the ceiling of his room on the island of Du Islinger or the illuminator as it was known in the human tongue, it had been named shortly after Eragon, Saphira and the elves had arrived as they had brought light to a piece of the world that never before seen it.

Eragons home was simple, sung from an ancient willow twisted with age when he and the elves had first arrived upon the island some 50 years before. It was a near identical copy of his tree house back in Ellesméra but with a few personal touches such as a blue dragon at the base of the spiralling stairs which Eragon had had magically crafted from a sapphire that the elves had found shortly after their arrival on the island. There was also an entire wall covered with fairths which Eragon had made over the last 50 years, some depicted moments of great joy for Eragon such as Saphira hatching and soaring through the air upon Saphira. While others depicted moments of sadness for Eragon such as the moments when the boat carried them away from Alagaësia and also one fairth in particular which Eragon treasured above all others. A fairth of Arya he had made the day after they had parted company upon the boat, possibly to never meet again.

_Eragon! Eragon listen to me!_ Called a voice in his head

Eragon immediately realised it was Saphira and snapped back to the real world.

_Sorry Saphira I was just thinking. _Replied Eragon

He noticed now that he was sweating all over but despite this felt cold as if he was at the top of a peak in the Spine.

_Was it the same Dream again, little one? _Saphira asked in her soothing voice that was full of worry and comfort which you would really not expect from a creature of such epic proportions and ferocity, he immediately felt himself being enveloped by the expansive mind of his partner of heart and mind which was like receiving a warm embrace.

_Yes, but it was so vivid and real it is so unlike any dream I have ever experienced. _Eragon mentally replied

He had experienced this same dream many times, with its first occurrence being several years after he had left Alagaësia. At first it was a very rare occurrence but it over the years it increased in frequency until he had the dream more often than not.

You should not dwell on it Eragon, if it is a premonition there is little you can do but continue on and keep your wits about you.

_I know, but who is this Shadow thing and how could we have destroyed it we would recognise it surely?_ Eragon observed as he was perplexed by how he could have destroyed this this and yet not remember it.

Saphira was equally confused by this but offered up the explanation _perhaps we shall destroy him in the future and then he will return. Anyway enough of this talk it is late and there are many things we must attend to in the morning. _And with that she closed the mental link between them so that they could just sense each other.

"Aye, there is" agreed Eragon to himself more than Saphira, tomorrow was indeed going to be a busy day when several new riders were due to arrive from Alagaësia, a feast was to be prepared to welcome the new riders that would swell the ranks of riders to over 30 which was a major milestone for Eragon as it meant riders would finally outnumber the elves upon the island which was the way it should be.

As Eragon drifted back to his waking dreams he began to dream of the one person other than Saphira that he loved unconditionally, Arya.

The Elf queen was Eragons one true love and the only person he would ever love of that he was sure, he thought of everything they had been through together but most of all he felt the regret and sorrow that came from the knowledge that she did not return this love. After so many years he had thought the pain of rejection would have dulled, but he still felt it as keenly as a knife through the heart.

The last image in Eragons mind was an image of Arya with her striking green eyes identical in colour to that of her Dragons Fírnen, Also he saw her Raven black hair pushed back from her face by a hairband and her striking angular features with sharply pointed ears and chin which to Eragon made her the most beautiful creature in all of Alagaësia.

But again Eragon was nearly consumed with grief; he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and for her to say those three words to him that mattered more than any others.

Soon though he felt sleep pull him into its dark embrace.

**AN: Hi again guys sorry about saphira's speech which i think was terrible and also sorry if any characters are OOC but i'll try my best to keep them in character, anyway thnks again.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hi again guys, thanks for the reviews so far they are all appreciated and especially the ones with tips and constructive criticisms. Hope you enjoy this chapter from Arya's POV, I kind of struggled to keep her in character but hopefully i made a decent job of it. Anyway guys enjoy!  
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Arya woke to the sound of swords clashing and the curses of warriors from the practice fields a short walk from her room, and for a second she imagined she was back on the burning plains with the sounds of battle and the smell of burning which seemed to clog up the nose and singe the back of the throat.

She suddenly snapped back to reality in her room in Du Weldenvarden as she heard her partner of heart and mind.

_Good morning little one. _Fírnen mentally called in his strangely deep voice that was totally out of proportion with his relatively slight frame: or at least slight as a dragon could be. Despite the fact he had grown considerably over the last 50 years he was still smaller than Saphira had been when Eragon and her had departed all those years ago.

Arya suddenly felt an almost overwhelming pang of grief at the thought of Eragon and Saphira; it had been so long since she had laid eyes upon the majestic blue dragon who was like a queen amongst dragons and her handsome rider who had left her to seek new lands to resurrect the dragon riders.

_Good morning, Fírnen. How are you this morning? _She replied trying to hide her feelings of sorrow which she wished to hide from Fírnen. This was easier said than done as they were effectively one with it being nearly impossible for one to hide their feelings from the other.

_Do not worry Arya we will see them again one day, but until then think of the good times we had together and not the sad ones. _Fírnen replied in an upbeat voice although Arya could also sense his grief at the loss of Saphira.

At first this had surprised Arya as she knew that dragons did not mate for life but when she inquired about his grief Fírnen had replied. _Before me and Saphira parted company we vowed to each other that we would remain partners forever and that the bond between us would last forever._

In many ways Arya could sympathise with this as she too had done a similar vow to be with no one but Eragon, but she had not fully embraced her feelings for Eragon until after his departure. In many ways this made it worse as deep down she knew that she had loved him before he had left but had never realised this herself until several months after his departure.

_I know Fírnen but it is so difficult! Everything I see or do I cannot help but draw parallels with him, I walk through the practice fields and picture our sparring and whenever I hear talk of the riders I picture him and cannot supress the longing I feel for him to embrace me and take my hand in his. _Arya gushed revealing more than she intended.

She began to break down with small sobs punctuating the silence in the room.

_I try so hard Fírnen… to supress my feelings as I have always done but… _

_I know little one, Let us not dwell on such things, the students will be waiting._ Fírnen interrupted not with unkindness but with an air that made it clear the conversation was at an end.

_Yes, you are right Fírnen, today is a new day. _Arya said as she sprang from her bed before quickly casting several spells of hygiene so that she was ready for a new day; she would have preferred a bath but that was out of the question due to the late start. She then proceeded to dress in her black leather training outfit that had become her standard clothing during her years as an ambassador for the elves. She found that as queen her attire was often expected to be more formal but at every opportunity such as training days she would wear her leather outfit.

Within minutes she was ready for the day ahead but before leaving her room she glanced at a fairth propped up on her bedside table and allowed herself a small smile as she took in the short brown hair and deep chestnut eyes of the figure in the fairth.

She stepped outside to a glorious day as the sun pierced the foliage above her head which caused the light reaching the ground to have a slightly cooler affect than it would otherwise have had.

As she strode through the trees elves would step aside and incline their heads towards her, she would return the gesture before moving on.

After a short walk she arrived at the training fields where she was greeted by 9 novice dragon riders at various stages in their training with some nearing the end of the 3 years training they would receive before heading to Du Islinger to continue their training, others however were not so experienced with several having just arrived in the last 6 months.

Murtagh (who had arrived back from the north about 15 years ago and had become Arya's assistant in training) approached Arya with Thorn walking alongside and they exchanged the typical elven greeting.

"Where is Fírnen? It is unlike him to be late." Murtagh asked

To which Arya replied "I'm sure he will be here any second now."

As if on cue Fírnen suddenly dived from the clouds and plunged towards the training fields with his wings tucked tight to his torso, he was travelling at such speed that he appeared a blur. Some students simply stood in awe of the majestic dragon screaming towards them, while others (mostly the newest students) seemed to visibly shrink away from the dragon in fear.

He continued to dive towards the ground and many of the students began to cry out that he would crash into it, suddenly there was a change of pressure as Fírnen unravelled his wings and with a single beat of them levelled out his descent barely 10 foot above the ground missing the head of a particularly tall Kull by mere inches.

During this flamboyant show only two riders had not cowered or panicked and they were Murtagh and Arya who both wore smiles upon their faces at both Fírnen's display and at the faces of their students.

As soon as Fírnen touched the ground he was surrounded by riders and dragons all praising his skill and begging to be taught that manoeuvre.

_Enough! _Fírnen shouted, his deep voice reverberated around the minds of the students. _None of you are ready for manoeuvres like that yet; the consequences for failure could prove fatal. There are great deal of other this that must be learnt first. Now everyone get to your teachers._

With that there was a great deal of movement as students ran to form lines in front of their teachers, Arya taught the five less experienced riders and dragons while Murtagh taught the more experienced students.

To start with Fírnen took the dragons on hunting practice combined with a history lesson while Arya started off the day with some sparring between the students. But as there was an odd number of students it meant that Arya would have to spar with a student.

There were always arguments between the students over who sparred with Arya as all the students felt that they would improve more when sparring with Arya, but also they all wanted to have the chance to best their teacher. Today Arya decided to spar with the newest rider, a 25 year old female elf named Alassë, She had arrived at Ellesméra only two weeks before from Osilon to the west of Ellesméra. And this was the first time Arya had seen her fight. Alassë had a murky mixture of blue and green in her eyes that appeared both full of youthful exuberance and wisdom at the same time with starlight hair which rolled down her back. Her dragon Kevalth was also unusual in the fact that his scales were blue at the base much like Saphira's but a muddy brown at their tips as if they were always dirty.

"Have you had much practice with the sword?" Arya inquired.

"Aye, my friends and I spent many hours practicing from a young age" Alassë replied in a confident tone for a student who had only arrived very recently.

"We shall see how much that practice pays off. Everyone block the blades in the way you have been taught." Arya said calmly as all of the students began uttering incantations to blunt their blades to prevent heads or arms being loped off. When Arya was satisfied that all the blades were blunted she shouted. "Begin!"

Immediately there was the crash of metal as swords clashed.

Arya and Alassë simply circled each other looking for weaknesses in each other's stances.

_She has good form._ Arya thought to herself. _But her stance is too wide she will struggle to retreat if she is forced onto defence._

With that Arya brought her sword down in a slice towards the left shoulder of Alassë who quickly raised her sword to block the blade inches from her shoulder. Arya quickly followed up with a thrust towards her chest, but Alassë deftly sidestepped before retaliating with a slice towards Arya's neck.

It happened so fast that Arya didn't realise what was happening until the very last second and could do little but arch her back and watch as the sword passed through the air where her head had been moments before.

They battled for several minutes with each attempting to gain supremacy over the other, one by one the other students had ceased their sparring to watch the incredible battle taking place before them, many gazed in awe at the prowess of the two females.

Suddenly Alassë overcommitted to a slice at Arya's gut and acting on instinct Arya dived under the blade and tucking into a roll while simultaneously slicing at the backs of Alassë's knees causing her legs to buckle and collapse onto the floor. Arya quickly sprang to her feet, whirled around and placed the tip of her sword on Alassë's back.

"Dead!" She announced before removing her sword before resheathing her sword and putting out a hand to help Alassë to her feet who gratefully accepted.

"That was very impressive swordsmanship there Alassë." Arya complimented with complete honesty, that was some of the most impressive skills she had ever seen, in fact there was only one other who had ever tested Arya so much. A sad smile spread across her face at this thought but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Thank you, Arya-Elda." Alassë replied with a broad smile across her face. "But I could never have done it without the voice in my head."

**Dun-dun-duuunnn **

**Worst cliffhanger ever sorry about that guys but really couldn't think of any other ways to end the chapter, may be a while before i can upload again (probably weekend) =( Anyway thanks again guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi guys! Im back at last, really sorry its been a week since i last uploaded but ive been super busy with school and friends and severe writers block etc. Anyways here it is a last and this chapter will be from Alasse's (sorry couldnt get a special e for that) and i just finished it now. So it may not be perfect so tell whats wrong and i may do updates**. **So yeah thanks again guys and please do review as it is really great getting feedback whether it be good or bad. Thanks Guys!**

"What do you mean by the voice in your head?" Arya asked in a kind but stern tone which made it clear that she wanted a straight answer while trying to reassure Alassë.

Alassë couldn't help but wonder how her life had come to this; she was a dragon rider in a new golden age talking to her queen about a voice in her head! The situation was so bizarre that she felt like laughing but judging by Arya-Elda's tone that would be unwise.

After she had said about the voice Arya had calmly dismissed the students to practice their ancient language vocabulary before leading Alassë into the forest to a small glade with a stream where they could speak without fear of being overheard, however to be sure Arya had muttered a short phrase in the ancient language to prevent anyone eavesdropping.

"I've had it all my life, it guides me, whispers to me and gives me energy." Alassë answered with complete sincerity, although she could tell that Arya still doubted her story.

"Why do you doubt my story?" Alassë asked

"It's not that I don't believe you, it just seems a bit far-fetched to have a voice in your head guide you and even more unbelievable that it can supply you with energy." Arya replied with a sigh evidently annoyed with herself that she had no solution.

"Have you never heard of anything like this before?" Alassë asked feeling slightly scared that even the elven queen had no solution to her problem.

"Not as you have described it, but I may have heard of something similar." Arya said cryptically "But if I may I would like to have a look at your memories to get a feel of what it is like."

Alassë was slightly hesitant about allowing anyone other than Kevalth to see her innermost memories.

Upon seeing her hesitancy Arya gave a quick smile before adding

"I will only look at stuff that is relevant, put barriers around anything you don't want me to examine."

Despite her smile and understanding there was a certain coldness about Arya which many assumed was just her personality, Alassë had heard stories from her fellow students about how she had sworn never to love anyone and that her personality was just naturally cold as ice. But it seemed to be something deeper to Alassë as if she was hiding from something, something she couldn't bear to face and thus hid behind that emotionless face.

"Okay, but please nothing private!" Alassë said trying to sound more confident than she was.

"You have my word" Arya replied with a ghost of a smile

With that she placed her hands on Alassë's head and began to look into her mind, at first it had been very strange to have another being other than Kevalth and the voice in her head and had to resist the almost overwhelming desire to put up barriers around her mind. But Arya was as gentle as possible and Alassë soon got used to having yet another mind in hers.

After about 10 minutes of searching through Alassë's memories Arya withdrew from her mind and said

"Thank you, I now understand what you mean by the voice. Although I would like to confer with Murtagh and Fírnen about this before I make a decision. So you may leave and practice alongside your fellow students"

"Thank you, Arya-Elda." Alassë replied curtly before turning to walk away.

As she walked away Alassë could not help but worry about what Arya thought of her now that she knew about the voice, would she think her unworthy to be a rider or would she fear her? As she thought of this she couldn't help but think of the fear that had flashed across her eyes behind her expressionless face.

As she arrived back at the practice fields still worrying she saw Kevalth swoop down low above the trees before landing next to Alassë who rubbed his snout affectionately. He made as sort of purring, rumbling noise in response.

_Do not worry little one Arya-Elda and Fírnen-Elda are both very wise they will make a decision that is best for both us and the riders._ In an unusually high pitched voice for a dragon that sounded almost like an Elf or Human was talking.

_I know Kevalth, but they have never seen anything like us before and it scares Arya I can see it in her eyes._ Alassë replied with a mental sigh.

_Fírnen-Elda told me how there are many mysteries and they will never be fully explained, we may be one of them. We are unique! _Kevalth said almost joyfully

_We are freaks Kevalth! We always will be. To normal citizens we are freaks because we are riders, although they are too scared to show it. And to the riders we will be freaks because of this voice. _Cried Alassë almost in tears.

_There, there little one. Arya-Elda and Fírnen-Elda will treat us just as they would any other rider and dragon, and if the others think we are freaks so be it for I have you and you have me, that is all we need._ He whispered in a soothing voice and sent a wave of positive thoughts through their mental link which quickly calmed Alassë down.

As Alassë began to calm she became aware that all the riders were watching her and Kevalth with interest although many turned away when she looked at them as if they were unsure of what she would do or how she would react to their staring.

She was about to shout to them to tell them to leave her alone when a human rider of about 16 stepped forward with a bow in hand. He was exceptionally tall for a human; well over 6 feet and had short blond hair that seemed to radiate sunlight. His eyes were like pools of water with their deep blue irises that seemed to be have no end as if they were vast oceans. He was also exceedingly handsome for a human with slightly slanted features that still looked human while having a slight elven look to them.

His name was Hartwin and his Silver Dragon was named Lucaroth, he was relatively average for a dragon in almost every way, size, length, weight and wingspan. He was an all-round dragon as suited to aerial combat as he was on the ground.

Although he was in Alassë's class she had spoken to him only once and that was to introduce themselves when Alassë had arrived.

"I was wondering, if you would like an archery challenge?" He asked slightly nervously, before adding quickly "If that is agreeable with you?"

"Yes, that sounds good to me." Alassë replied with a small nod.

Inside however she was beaming and was extremely grateful to Hartwin for saving her from more awkwardness.

The excitement began to mount as a distance was marked out to the target, Alassë was surprised that it was such a long distance, at the very limit of elven bow range and way further than human made bows could reach.

"Are you sure that your bow can reach the target from this range? Surely it is out of reach for a human bow?" She asked

"No this is fine." Hartwin replied coolly "My bow is not a human one it is elven like yours."

Alassë was taken aback by this; it was almost unheard of for a human to have an elven bow.

By now the expectation had peaked and all the young riders were gathered around the two competitors shouting words of encouragement; mainly for Hartwin as he was clearly a well-liked rider.

One of the older students had stepped forward to referee the match and laid down some ground rules: "Each competitor will be allowed two arrows each, with 1 point being awarded for the outer ring, 2 for the middle and 3 for the innermost ring." With that he stepped aside and motioned for Hartwin to take his first shot.

He lined up for his first shot, his body was going through one fluid movement, raising the bow, taking aim, drawing the string back, with a sharp twang Hartwin released his arrow which raced through the air and struck about two inches to the left of the innermost target.

He was clearly pleased with his shot as he smiled slightly arrogantly and said "I used to go hunting with my father a lot when I was younger." By way of answering Alassë's surprised face.

Alassë truly was shocked by both his skill and gracefulness that were both worthy of an elf, _He must be extremely strong to draw back an elven bow with such ease, I didn't even believe it possible for a human- even a rider- to be able to use an elven bow._ She remarked to Kevalth

_Indeed there is much more to this human than meets the eye_ He replied with a slight chuckle as if he knew something she did not.

Now it was her turn and nerves started to get the better of her, she desperately wanted to run and escape from the pressure that she was under. But with a few slow breaths she calmed herself and relaxed her tense muscles, slowly she raised her bow until the shaft of the arrow was level with her eyes, she estimated that the wind would blow the arrow slightly to the left so she aimed her bow about a foot to the right of the centre. Pulling back the bow she held her breath to keep her aim steady and then released and watched as the arrow flew towards the target before striking it with a dull thud.

The arrow had landed about a foot and a half low of the centre in the middle of the 2 point circle.

_Well done little one, a fine shot! _Kevalth remarked

_Yes, but not as well as Hartwin! _Alassë replied slightly despondently

_Do not compare yourself to others little one, worry about yourself and not others. _

By this point Hartwin had stepped up to take his second shot and was now going through the motions, when he was ready he released the arrow and watched as it struck the target this time about an inch to the right of the inner circle.

This time Hartwin was much more disappointed with his shot as he had clearly overestimated the strength of the wind and had aimed too far to the right. He let a slight growl escape his lips and his face was a picture of mild anger.

Now it was Alassë's turn and again the nerves returned, she had a very real chance of winning but only if she controlled herself.

With a deep breath she steadied herself and focused only on the target, she drew the bow back and this time aimed much further above the target while maintaining her shot a foot to the right of the centre.

As she was about to release she heard a voice _Aim a few inches higher. _

_Surely it will be too high _Alassë thought but did as the voice said.

She released the arrow and gazed as it arced through the air.

Unfortunately a headwind had suddenly sprung up and the arrow began to falter in its flight and quickly dropped away, with a dull thud it struck the target on the very rim of the inner circle, everyone including Alassë held their breath as the referee stepped forward and examined the arrow.

"I can declare that the winner is Alassë! With 5 points to 4." He shouted above the cheering of the crowd.

Suddenly the crowd all surged towards Alassë congratulating her on her impressive performance. Alassë allowed herself a satisfied smile knowing that for now at least she would be accepted by her fellow riders.

Her smile quickly disappeared as she saw Hartwin barge his way to the front with a thunderous look on his face. Alassë braced herself for the barrage of insults that were likely to come her way. She just hoped they weren't enough to turn the rest of the riders against her again.

But as he drew nearer his face brightened with a genuine smile as he said "It was truly an honour to have our little duel, your skill with the bow is to be admired. The way you adjusted for that headwind at the last second was inspired!"

"Thank you." Replied Alassë, her face turning slightly red at the compliments and also because it was actually the voice that had enabled her to win.

"No, thank you." Hartwin said humbly before reaching out his arm as a sign of friendship, Alassë grasped his forearm and shook it emphatically.

As Alassë went to sleep that night she felt content, not only had she gained the respect of her fellow students but she also had her first ally among the riders in Hartwin.

However she could not forget about something, _How did come to acquire an elven bow?_ She mused to herself

Kevalth simply uttered a rumbling laugh before replying cryptically. _All will be revealed little one…_

**Oh on last thing guys if anyone wouldnt mind being a Beta reader for me and giving me feedback before i release each chapter that would be great, so if your interested either PM me or say in the review. Thanks**_  
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	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi guys thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my fanfic i never expected to get over 400 readers in just three chapters and i just wanted to thank each and eberyone of you for reading. I also wanted to thank my four reviewers so far:**

**Firebender, Elemental Dragon slayer, Scribefortheking and Apple Jaxx for your really positive reviews. **

**Plus(I know this is dragging on sorry) I also wanted to thank all those guys who have favourited my story. Sorry this was so long anyway Enjoy.  
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The past few months had been a blur to Arya as she sat in a quiet glade that was her escape from everything, whether it was her duties as queen or as the head rider in Alagaësia. It seemed that everything she did was mired in a political mess whether it was sorting out trade agreements with the dwarfs and humans or just sending out a young rider to sort out a minor dispute between farmers. While all these things were small and insignificant individually, they were so numerous that much of her time was spent in meetings with both Dathedr and her other subordinates or with Murtagh regarding which rider to send where and whether they should be accompanied by another rider.

As she sat in the glade; the same one she had taken Alassë to some five months earlier. She looked up into the sky and watched as the clouds floated lazily by. She reached out her mind towards the forest that surrounded her and took joy in sensing the mind of every creature around for nearly a mile. These creatures ranged from a tiny caterpillar wriggling up the trunk of an ancient pine tree to a wolf stalking through the forest in search of its next meal. Arya began to focus her attention on the wolf and built a mental picture of both the wolf and its surroundings from the numerous small animals around the wolf, she observed as it lifted its snout and sniffed the air several times before following the scent of a small doe about half a mile away. The wolf's conscience began to fade away as the distance between the two of them increased until it was so tiny it was like a candle flickering at the end of an extremely long tunnel.

As she snapped back to reality she could not help but envy the wolf, _how easy life must be to only need to worry about the next meal and finding a mate during season._ She mused to herself. But at the thought of mates her thoughts turned back to Eragon and her feelings of warmth and contentedness immediately turned to a feeling of dread and loneliness.

Why, oh why had she left him on that boat? How much happier would she have been if she had left with him? Would she feel guilt for abandoning her people? Probably. But it would not be as great as the guilt she felt now; she couldn't imagine it was even possible to experience more guilt than this.

Sighing she stood to leave; although her mind begged her to stay and just think. She knew she had matters to attend to, matters that greatly outweighed her feelings of sorrow.

She made her way through the forest at a sedate pace observing the living city around her.

She soon reached the clearing where the practice fields were situated and found Alassë, Kevalth and Fírnen all waiting for her.

During the intervening five months since Alassë had revealed the voice to her she had taken Alassë on as her student for extra tuition. The young student did not appear to mind giving up her free time for training for as far as Arya could tell the students were still wary of her, but one student, Hartwin. had overcome these barriers to become her only real friend, his decision was one that had lost him much respect amongst his fellow students but one that had greatly increased Arya's respect for him. She now taught her for several hours on a one to one basis after the other students retired for the day, meanwhile Fírnen tutored Kevalth.

Her lessons ranged wildly from literature and the study of the ancient language to perfecting her sword technique, she now could hold her own against Arya for long periods of time with relative ease and had even succeeded in hitting Arya on more than one occasion. Something that even Murtagh could not hope to achieve with any kind of consistency.

_You took your time, my queen! _Fírnen said with a pompous voice thick with sarcasm. Much to the amusement of Kevalth and Alassë.

"Yes if you were any later we would have finished our 3 years of training and travelled all the way to Du Islinger!" Alassë added with a smile and a voice every bit as pompous as Fírnen's.

"I apologise but something important came up that required my attention." Arya replied also with a smile on her face.

She knew she could not deceive Fírnen but did not want the young students to know the details of her love life. During their tutoring a casual friendship had developed between the four of them and Arya found that she could slightly drop her usual Stoic Façade and talk much more openly with Kevalth and Alassë than she could with most others. That said she still did not trust them enough to reveal any real secrets such as her feelings for Eragon, she also doubted they would be of much use as they had never met Eragon being born after his departure.

_What are we working on today masters? _Kevalth asked in his high pitched voice

_Today we thought we should simply go for a flight together and we would also like to have a discussion with you at some point. _Fírnen answered

Alassë and Kevalth were obviously delighted at this as Kevalth raised his head to the sky and set forth a torrent of bluish, brownish flames that shot some fifty feet in the air scaring many a bird in the nearby forest. All four of them laughed as they watched the birds scatter in all directions.

After their laughter had subsided the riders climbed onto their dragons back before with one enormous flap they were airborne. It didn't matter how many times Arya experienced this sensation of flight it never wore thin. It was one of those rare experiences in life that were as exciting the millionth time as the first.

As they flew Fírnen would call out manoeuvres mentally to Kevalth who would then follow Fírnen in a complex sequence of twists and turns that on more than one occasion threatened to throw Alassë from the saddle.

After every sequence she looked a deathly white and looked to be on the verge of vomiting.

_You must practice this on your own more often that way you, Alassë shall become used to the motions, and Kevalth you must learn your partners limits and never exceed them, you must understand that a rider too ill to fight is as good as a dead one._

_Yes, Master. _Alassë and Kevalth replied simultaneously.

After this they continued to fly for around another half-hour, talking about everything and yet nothing. Eventually silence fell upon their small party with each simply content to bask in the Beauty of the forest that stretched as far as the eye could see and the sun quickly falling from its perch high above the world to be replaced by the moon before its inevitable return.

_If only life was that simple, _thought Arya, _to know that each day would be followed by the next. Yet we are stuck in turmoil our entire lives fearing what may be around the corner… fearing the unknown. _Unaware that she had forgotten to close her mind to the others.

_The unknown is what makes life exciting, _countered Fírnen, _without stuff waiting to be discovered or truths long lost to be rediscovered there would be no point to life._

_I agree, my greatest desire in life is to travel to realms unknown, to know things unknown to any other being and to learn the ways of the world. _Alassë added, evidently awed at the very thought of travelling to unknown realms.

And while Kevalth did not say anything he gave a mental nod in agreement with the others.

Arya sighed; _you are right as always Fírnen._

Arya did not sigh because Fírnen was always right but because the conversation had come dangerously close to the subject Arya and Fírnen wished to discuss with their young students about. She felt extremely sad about what she and her partner would tell them, but also joy for them as they would achieve their dreams.

Closing her mind to Alassë and Kevalth she spoke only to Fírnen, _I think we should land now and talk to them._

_I agree, there is a clearing over there I shall land there._

Once they had landed in the small clearing that was barely large enough for the two dragons to stand let alone sit or lay, the two riders disembarked and wandered towards an old, twisted tree trunk now on its side after it had finally given in to the destructive force of time. They sat on it and for a few minutes simply sat on the trunk and listened to the cries of animals all around. As the sun's light began to fade so too did the sounds of the animals until all that could be heard was the sounds of crickets making their incessant noise and the occasional rustle in the brush from a night-time forager going about its nightly business.

Eventually Arya spoke, "Me, Fírnen, Murtagh and Thorn have decided that you and Kevalth are ready to travel to Du Islinger and complete your training."

"But surely we must complete our three years of training before we can leave for Du Islinger?" Alassë asked with confusion etched across her face

"You are the most talented students we have ever seen, Fírnen tells me Kevalth has mastered just about every trick he can teach him and that he is truly ready for adventure." She paused to let the news sink in "Murtagh tells me that you excel in every form of magic and that your healing skills are unparalleled by anyone he has ever seen." Again she paused "As for me I can assuredly say that you are one of the best swordswomen I have ever had the honour to fight against, I can maybe one other who has challenged me so much." She paused again, this time for her own benefit.

"Thank you, masters we shall not let you down." Alassë said with evident wholeheartedness.

"We know you won't, however we must send another more senior rider along with you due to your youth and inexperience."

"Who will that be?" Alassë inquired

"After much discussion between myself and Murtagh we have decided that the rider to accompany you shall be me." Arya answered with a smile that barely concealed her joy at the thought of seeing Eragon again after so many years.

Although there was also a seed of fear that had taken root at the back of Arya's mind, _what if he no longer loves me? After all those rejections has he finally given up and moved on?_ However Arya knew deep in her heart that he still loved her and that is what she listened to.

Alassë looked aghast "B-but my queen surely you have your duties here not just as queen but also as the head rider in Alagaësia, you cannot just leave!"

"I have had many years to think up a solution to this and that is too install Murtagh as head rider and also to have Dathedr as Prime Minister in my absence." Arya said very pleased with herself for thinking up such an ingenious solution.

"Surely Lord Dathedr would never go along with such a scheme?"

"At first he did not but he soon saw the sense in this as he knew sooner or later I would leave to visit Du Islinger and agreed we should have a plan for just such an eventuality."

"I see but what will the rest of the elven families think of their queen suddenly leaving?"

Arya smiled at this, Alassë had so many questions that she reminded Arya of Eragon, always the curious one with a seemingly infinite number of questions. Arya hadn't realised how much she had missed Eragon's questions until now, they were yet another thing that Arya greatly missed about Eragon.

"I shall make an announcement tomorrow at dawn and we shall leave later that day so they can think whatever they will, it is of no real concern to me" Arya said while in her mind saying _my main concern is to see Eragon again._

_Do not forget Saphira. _Fírnen added

_Of course not, how could I when all you ever do is think of her?_ Arya joked.

_You're one to talk with your constant thoughts of Eragon this and Eragon that. _Fírnen retaliated before beginning to laugh in his rumbling, deep voice.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Arya, While Alassë was generally a rather outgoing and confident person the one thing she had always shied away from in conversation was family.

"Do you wish to visit your family before we depart as it may be many years before you return?"

Alassë looked up at Arya and tears began to fill her eyes. "I have no family, my parents are dead and I have no brothers or sisters." Diamond tears began to fall freely now, flowing along her beautiful, angular face like a river heading towards an ocean.

Arya felt tears well up in her own eyes as she watched this young elf sob and shudder with grief at the loss of her parents. She continued to watch as Kevalth touched his snout to her head and Arya knew that he was mentally calming Alassë.

Once the sobs had ceased and Alassë had had the chance to dry her eyes on the sleeves of her light blue linen shirt Arya asked as gently as she could "How did they pass from this world?"

"My father died in a practice accident while sparring with my mother before I was even born, my father tripped just as my mother was slicing at his waist and she hit him full force in the side of the head and he…he d-died instantly d-despite the f-fact the swords were dulled." Alassë answered nearly breaking down at the end but managing to hold herself together, she continued "My mother was depressed for the rest of her life and took her life when I was just 18…" She trailed off as if deep in thought

Arya knew what it was like to lose a parent so young having lost her father as a child, but to have lost both her mother and her father at the age of just 18 was horrendous, especially for elves who could live eternally if luck be on their side.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Alassë in a tight embrace. At first Alassë flinched as if unsure what to do but soon relaxed and soon began to gently sob on Arya's shoulder. Soon Alassë could cry no more and withdrew from the embrace.

Arya quickly readdressed her emotions and took on her emotionless mask once more before saying, "Come now we must rest and gather our strength for tomorrow, also we must speak with Eragon Shadeslayer, the Head rider about our plans."

As she flew back to Ellesméra Arya could hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of speaking to Eragon once more.

**Two more things I wanted to say (again sorry) I find it really difficult to write from Arya's POV cos there is nothing in the IC books about her inner feelings so this is my interpretation of how i would describe her feelings, finally just wanted to say im now on easter holiday- equivalent to American spring break (Hooray) so expect lots of new chapters probably every other day maybe every day, so thanks again and please do review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hi guys, here it is chapter five and its the longest one yet, sorry if its a tad boring to start with its just filler really, but the stuff at the end should be more interesting. Just wanted to say thanks again for all the reviews (I think they've doubled since last chapter which is really encouraging) Hope you're all still enjoying and carry on reviewing.**

Alassë opened her eyes and took a second to remember the enormity of the day ahead of her; she smiled at the thought of travelling to a new realm. She shuddered with excitement and expectation at the thought of leaving, but also a sense of sadness at leaving her home, her entire life.

She was also saddened by the thought of leaving Hartwin, even more so than she had felt about leaving her friends back in Osilon. He had been her only real friend in Ellesméra, the only one she felt she could trust with anything; other than Kevalth obviously. He also shied away from conversation about family but this suited Alassë just fine. But in all other areas he was outgoing in a similar way to Alassë, but above all else he was different just like her, he was different in a more subtle way but there was something about him that was different.

She stood up and walked over to her bedroom window and looking out gazed out in the darkness at the forest that had been her home her entire life. Only once had she set foot outside the forest of Du Weldenvarden and that was after the death of her mother she had simply wandered for several weeks until she came upon the edge of the forest. She had wandered out of the forest and was surprised at the barrenness of her surroundings.

_How could anyone wish to live in such barren lands? _She had thought

She spent only a few days wondering the plains before she came across the city of Ceunon, she had been intrigued to find out how humans lived their lives and so explored the city and was shocked to see the contrast between human and elven ways of life. For elves work was more of a hobby to pass the hours. In contrast for humans work was a matter of life and death, every human man worked, usually with a sullen face as they went about jobs that they resented yet needed.

But the thing that struck her most was the sight of men, women and even children living on the streets. She had thought how could any human live with themselves when there are so many starving on their doorsteps.

She had been taught that humanity was in a new golden age after the death of Galbatorix, but this did not appear to be the case to Alassë.

After a few minutes she snapped back to her room as she heard a voice in her mind

_Good morning little one, we must be ready to leave dawn will soon be upon us and there is much to organise before we find Arya and Fírnen. _Called her wonderful dragon who always reminded her of the good that was in the world.

_Yes, I am nearly ready_. She replied as she sent a wave of excitement through their mental link.

_I shall wait outside until you are ready, but do not be too long or I may have become so bored I shall abandon the whole trip and go hunting instead! _Kevalth said with a chuckle

Alassë could only marvel at her dragon's strange sense of humour.

_I will not be long we have to say goodbye to Hartwin and Lucaroth as well._

There was only a mental grunt of affirmative from Kevalth who was evidently eager to be off.

After a few more minutes Alassë had packed all her things she would be taking with her to Du Islinger and with a final glance around the almost bare tree house that had been her home for six months and realised how much she would miss it; especially in the weeks of travel on their journey. Alassë was not a big fan of sleeping in the wild but knew this journey would not be the last time it would be required. With that she took the first step out of her door on a whole new adventure.

By the time Alassë and Kevalth reached the square that lay in front of the queen's palace the birds had begun their dawn chorus and the sun had just begun to climb above the tips of the trees on the far side of the square. As if on cue several hundred elves emerged from the trees in all directions to hear their queen's speech which had been announced the previous night.

Once the crowd had all assembled and any latecomers had settled down the queen stepped forward in her finest attire; a white, flowing dress complete with a flowing cape of peacock feathers that fell to the floor and dragged behind for nearly a foot. The queen herself looked very uneasy in her attire and yet managed to maintain a gracefulness unparalleled by any other being. She stopped atop a set of stairs where the crowd could see her while she was not too high that she appeared to be distancing herself from her people. Atop her head was her golden circlet with its tear shaped diamond.

As she addressed the crowd her voice carried an authority worthy of a leader

"My people, I address you today to inform you that I shall be leaving to join Eragon Shadeslayer to train the next generation of dragon riders."

At this there was outrage amongst the elves at the thought of their queen leaving with many cursing at her in derogatory terms.

Alassë could not remember elves ever having been in such an uproar, for a race that was so peaceful the sight of them so angry would scare even the bravest of beings.

Once the crowds had quietened down slightly the queen continued quickly silencing the rest

"In my absence I shall be appointing Lord Dathedr as my Prime Minister to lead as he sees fit, I do not know when I shall return and so as of now until my return I declare Lord Dathedr Prime Minister."

Without further ado she turned on her heels and began her graceful walk back towards the tree palace seemingly oblivious to the uproar her people were in.

Quickly Alassë and Kevalth worked their way through the crowd (which was not too difficult with a dragon) and up the steps leading towards the palace.

Once they reached the palace they stepped through an arch large enough for even the largest of dragons to pass underneath, once inside they found themselves in a huge throne room with an oak throne that appeared to be two small trees entwined together as if in a tight embrace. The throne also had engravings of dragons and elves living together in harmony and trees of many different species to represent the forest and its diversity.

The throne itself was currently unoccupied and Alassë couldn't help but think that it spent much of its time that way as Arya was not the kind of person to sit idly while life passed her by.

Unsure what to do while they waited for the queen the two students began to chat and marvel at the architecture of the building.

After a few minutes Arya appeared in a doorway joining the throne room to the rest of the palace. she had changed out of her formal dress into her standard Black leather attire and now looked much more comfortable in her favoured clothes.

"Alassë, Kevalth, I trust you are ready to depart? Alassë if you follow me we need to scry Eragon before our departure and Kevalth if you would not mind could you wait outside with Fírnen as these corridors are not big enough for you." Arya asked clearly eager to depart

Arya then turned and began to walk the way she had come with Alassë in tow, Kevalth began to walk outside to wait with Fírnen

"Yes we are." Replied Alassë before she had a thought "Master, I know it is not my place but don't you think you were a bit abrupt at your address?"

"Not really it was short and to the point, if I had addressed them any other way it would have dragged on and we would be severely delayed and the same outcome would have emerged. Besides our people lead such leisurely lives they do not understand that sometimes speed is needed."

"I see." Alassë said even though she was still somewhat confused, _maybe a less abrupt approach would have cost them some time but they had all the time in the world why was Arya so desperate to leave that she would leave her people in such an uproar?_

_Time shall reveal all Alassë, learn to be patient and you shall be rewarded with answers eventually._ Kevalth said with wisdom far beyond his years

_Why are dragon's always so right? We riders are always so wrong!_ Alassë huffed mentally

Arya stopped abruptly at a door on the left and opened it before motioning for Alassë to enter.

When Alassë entered she found that the room much reflected its occupant's personality, nothing particularly stood out, and it was to all intents and purposes emotionless much like Arya's personality would lead you to believe she was like, Alassë however was not so sure about this.

Then out of the corner of her eye she spotted something that did attract her attention, it was a fairth propped up on a bedside cabinet and showed a young man with chestnut brown eyes and almost identical brown hair which was cut short. His face was clean shaven and was most unusual in the fact that he had the angular features of an elf yet a certain ruggedness that reflected a human man, by either races standards he was very handsome.

"Arya-Elda, is this a friend of yours?" Alassë asked

"That is Eragon Shadeslayer and yes he was a very good friend of mine." Arya answered in an even tone. But Alassë noticed a certain look flash across Arya's face that seemed pained at his mention but Alassë let the matter go.

"But I thought he was a human?"

Arya laughed "You evidently don't remember your history! He was transformed at the blood-oath celebration and became a sort of human-elf hybrid."

"I remember it's just he barely looks human at all, almost anyone would mistake him for an elf."

Again Arya laughed "He may look more elf than human but he still has the mind of a human. Anyway enough of this idle chat why look at a fairth when you can talk to the real Eragon?"

Without further ado she walked towards a mirror mounted on one wall and said

"Draumr Kópa"

At once the mirror changed to show the image of a room identical to those in Ellesméra and for a while Alassë thought the spell had gone wrong and Arya had scryed someone in Ellesméra by accident.

The two elves called into the mirrors several times but with no results, Arya looked very disappointed and was about to end the spell, but then a face popped in from the right of the mirror and there was Eragon Shadeslayer.

* * *

><p>For a second Arya froze unable to say anything, although she was able to maintain a straight face although a small smile touched the edge of her lips.<p>

Eragon appeared even more taken aback judging by the way his face looked like a rabbit standing face to face with a giant dragon, all he could manage was

"Arya…"

"Hello Eragon, it has been too long would you not agree?" Arya said now with a grin on her face both at Eragon's shocked face and the very sight of him

"Yes it has been too long." Agreed Eragon although his face seemed to have got over the initial shock of seeing Arya and now appeared to be hiding any emotion.

Arya was slightly disappointed at his lack of reaction but simply put it down to the fact that Alassë was present and also that this being the first time they had seen each other in over fifty years and he likely didn't know how to react to her sudden appearance, at least this was what she told herself although at the back of her mind seeds of doubt took root once more.

She hid her emotions as best she could and said "You have not changed one bit, Shadeslayer"

"Nor have you, my queen" He replied with a sly smile

"Please Eragon there is no need to be formal for we are old friends." She replied although she desperately wished for more.

"Yes of course, Arya, to what do I owe this pleasure" his face returning to its emotionless mask.

_He is getting nearly as good as me at this. _She observed much to Fírnen's amusement

_No one can mask their feelings as well as you Arya, and also say hello to Eragon and Saphira for me._

"Fírnen says hello."

"As does Saphira."

There were a few moments of silence before Arya spoke

"Eragon I have an issue of sorts with one of my students." Motioning towards Alassë

Eragon's face instantly became serious which made it clear to Arya that he had grown a lot since his departure.

"What is this problem you speak of?"

Alassë here is the most talented student I have ever taught, she is unmatched in the healing arts and is also the best swordswoman I have ever taught and is not far off besting me. Her dragon is also extraordinary in the fact that he has mastered everything we can teach him here in less than six months training!"

Eragon was intrigued by what Arya said and leaned closer to the mirror as if trying to get a better look at Alassë.

"If she is so skilled why do you speak of an issue?" He said finally after much consideration.

"She has a voice inside her mind which guides her and gives her strength; it also does so to her dragon but through their mental link. I have looked at her memories and it is exactly as she described it, she has had it ever since her birth."

After a moment of deliberation Eragon said "Alassë I must admit I am most intrigued by you and I shall enjoy continuing your training, I would also like to have a better understanding of this voice, so when you I arrive may I examine your memories."

His voice and expression radiated a warmth and kindness that was identical to the Eragon of old, clearly he had not changed at all apart from the wisdom he now possessed which pleased Arya to no end.

_I am so happy that he is still Eragon and also at how much he has matured. _Arya thought feeling exhilarated

"Thank you Eragon-Elda, we shall see you upon our arrival in a few weeks." Alassë said with joy as her adventure was finally confirmed.

"Alassë would you please wait outside while I talk to Eragon." Arya said before adding "we shall only be a few minutes."

Once Alassë had closed the door behind her Arya turned back to Eragon with a smile that could not even begin to show her joy, she was also relieved to see that he returned this look of sheer joy.

"Arya, we should really talk more often, I know that you are very busy with being both queen and head rider of Alagaësia but surely we could find time to talk once in a while."

"How do you know we won't be able to talk face to face soon?" Arya said with a sly smile

Eragon looked immensely confused at this and asked

"Surely you cannot just abandon your positions to see me?"

"I am leaving Murtagh in charge of the riders here and have appointed Lord Dathedr Prime Minister in my absence. Besides who says I am going just for you?" She said teasingly

Now it was Eragons turn to barely control his excitement.

"How quickly can you get here?" He asked

"Two to three weeks depending on the weather conditions." She replied "Anyway we must depart now or it shall not be worth leaving today, I look forward to our long overdue reunion Eragon Shadeslayer."

"As do I Arya Dröttning, as do I."

Suddenly Eragon had a thought and whispered something barely audible, Arya shivered in recognition. She repeated this for him and watched as he too shivered.

For a moment they just stared into each other's eyes, an unspoken conversation went between the two of them in a split second before Eragon faded away and Arya was staring at herself.

After a few seconds Arya regained her composure and stood before looking about her room, she began to make her way towards the door before remembering something she turned back towards the fairth of Eragon. She kissed two fingers before pressing them gently against the fairth.

Turning once again she walked out of her bedroom taking her first steps towards Eragon.

**AN:Thanks again finally some interaction between Arya and Eragon, hopefully it's up to scratch, I think i did a fairly good job on this but why not review and tell me what you think?*nudge nudge* anyway thanks again.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hi guys this should just be a short one, once again thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts. They really do encourage me and any tips are most welcome, also I just wanted to say that if anyone has any questions feel free to PM me and i promise i'll answer them as best as i can. So anyway thanks again and enjoy.**

For hours upon hours the sea passed beneath the two pairs of dragons and riders, each one of them was thoroughly bored by this scenery, Alassë and Kevalth at first had been awed at the sight of the ocean past the vast wilderness of eastern Alagaësia having never seen such a vast body of water before. But after several days of monotonous flight over endless ocean broken only by a few scattered islands which were often little more than outcrops of rock with a few trees.

They had had to stop several times on their journey east on these rocky outcrops, most of which were only about a mile in diameter with no game for the dragons to hunt on all but the very largest of these outcrops, this meant the dragons had to ration their meagre supplies of meat while searching for any prey they could find on these islands, they often came back empty-handed (or empty mouthed as the case was) which meant tempers in the camp were often fraught as a hungry dragon made for a grumpy dragon.

As they flew Kevalth and Alassë continued to play eye-spy, it had been fun to begin with but it had quickly become boring as there was very little variation in the ocean and its views, with an outcrop here and there and the odd seabird flying around briefly before heading back to an outcrop. The only real excitement came when they saw a giant sea creature surface before blowing water out from the top of its head before disappearing into the depths of the ocean.

They had tried to ask Arya and Fírnen what the creature was but they found that they both had their mental barriers up and were clearly having a private conversation. Quickly giving up on their attempts to talk with the older pair a mutual silence descended as they both became fed up with eye-spy simultaneously.

After this the two of them simply had their separate thoughts and Alassë's thoughts soon drifted back to her conversation with Hartwin.

She had left the palace to meet up with Fírnen and Kevalth while they were waiting for Arya to finish her conversation with Eragon. When she reached the clearing she had found that Lucaroth and Hartwin were waiting with them, when she approached Hartwin stepped up to her with a sorrowful smile and without saying a word he embraced her.

At first she had felt very awkward and didn't really know how to react but after a second she relaxed and allowed herself to return the affection, suddenly Hartwin broke away from the embrace with an extremely embarrassed look on his face.

"I am very sorry Alassë, I hope I didn't make you feel awkward it's just we shall not see each other for some years and I just got carried away." Hartwin mumbled looking very awkward and apologetic with his eyes averted.

Alassë cupped her hand under his chin and lifted his head until his eyes met hers.

"Hartwin you are my friend and you have nothing to be sorry for." She said with a warm smile.

Hartwin instantly regained a normal shade of pink and he looked very thankful about the reprieve.

"Thank you Alassë, I am truly lucky to have a friend like you."

Alassë noticed that Kevalth had closed their mental link and seemed to be having a conversation with the other dragons; she also noticed that they were laughing in their deep rumbling way. She couldn't help but think that they were laughing at her and Hartwin but before she could say anything Arya strode into the clearing clearly eager to be leaving.

"Alassë if you are done saying goodbye we should depart now." Arya said in an even tone which clearly said we are leaving now.

"Well I guess this is goodbye Hartwin." Alassë said nearly in tears at the thought of leaving her best friend.

"Yes, but not forever I'll be at Du Islinger before you know it!" He said before adding with a wry smile "And then I'll beat you in an archery match!"

Alassë laughed before stepping forward and giving Hartwin a quick hug, although short it was beautiful and seemed to give Alassë the courage to leave on her journey.

_And goodbye to you too Lucaroth._

_Goodbye Alassë-Kevalth's-rider._

She mounted Kevalth in a matter of seconds and waved to Hartwin and Lucaroth and was just preparing herself for Kevalth to launch into the air when Hartwin suddenly stepped forward and removed something from around his neck.

"Here take this necklace, it belonged to my mother but I would like you to have it."

The necklace was silver with a single Emerald upon it, either side were the engravings of a dragon passing through a cloud, the detail on the engraving was beautiful and Alassë could not help but wonder how any human would have both the skill and knowledge to depict a dragon in such detail.

"I could not possibly take what was your mothers and besides I have nothing to give you."

But Hartwin forced the necklace into her hands and said "I was given this by my mother, it is mine to give to whom I wish, and the only thing I want you to do for me is remember me."

"Thank you Hartwin of course I will remember you! Farewell." With that Kevalth beat his wings and Hartwin's reply was lost in the wind.

Suddenly Alassë was above the trees and was soaring upwards as Kevalth caught up with Fírnen; with one last glimpse back Alassë could see the silhouette of Lucaroth and a tiny speck that was Hartwin.

Tears began to flow freely now as Alassë truly comprehended the fact that she would not see Hartwin for such a long time, after a minute she rubbed her eyes removing the tears but leaving red rings around them. She silently unclipped the necklace and reattached it around her neck, she would honour Hartwin's wish and remember him.

Snapping back to reality as she felt Kevalth prod her mind she opened her mind to him still feeling rotten about leaving, but what Kevalth said made her feel considerably better.

_Look little one, the island of Du Islinger!_

* * *

><p>Eragon woke to the various calls of the birds upon the island of Du Islinger, many of which were not found in Alagaësia which gave the island an even more exotic feel and also mysteriousness about not knowing what each animal was capable of. Animals on the island varied from docile foragers to the more aggressive creatures that would attack elf, human, urgal and dwarf alike, although even these creatures knew not to attack dragons after the first few years of the riders arrival.<p>

What surprised Eragon most was that there had only been one fatality since their arrival and that was one of the elves who had accompanied them to Du Islinger, strangely this elf had not been killed by some fearsome creature but by a simple poisonous fruit that somehow could not have its poisonous qualities detected by magic. The elf had been much grieved for but his death also served as a reminder that magic could not always be relied on to find dangers.

Eragon had once again had the same nightmare during the night just as he had every night for the last month, and while he had become accustomed to the nightmare and knew it all off by heart he found that every time he would still wake up dripping with sweat and pale with fear.

But he pushed all thoughts of the dream to the back of his mind for today was the day when Arya and Alassë would arrive.

Arya had scryed him two days before to tell him that if all went smoothly they would arrive at the island today, Eragon had been so excited that over the last two days he had been able to concentrate on little else including his teaching. He had told his students very little of who would be arriving, only that they were very important. In fact the only person besides himself and Saphira who knew was Blödgharm as Eragon had accidently let this slip during a conversation with him about preparations for their arrival.

Blödgharm had simply laughed as Eragon's face had flushed red at the mere mention of Arya and gave Eragon a knowing smile.

"What kind of fool do you take me for Eragon? I can see that you have something going on with Arya, every time she is mentioned you become distanced from the conversation and have that glazed look in your eyes."

"Is it really that obvious?" Eragon gasped

"No, but you have just confirmed my suspicions." Blödgharm replied with a laugh

Eragon had been furious at allowing himself to be fooled but could also see the funny side to it and began to laugh with Blödgharm.

Suddenly wide awake Eragon rose from his bed before magically shaving and watched in the mirror as all the strands of stubble had fallen from his face onto the floor, he also muttered a few spells of cleanliness before putting on his finest clothing; a dark blue elven shirt with intricate silver patterns sown into it, his trousers were a silver colour that seemed to radiate light like they the very essence of starlight.

Once he was satisfied with his appearance he eagerly bounded down the stairs of his tree house before mentally calling out to Saphira

_Saphira where are you?_

He got no reply but decided she had just gone to stretch her wings and would return soon.

After only two or three minutes he reached the largest building on the island which was the building where the students trained, it also served as the communal dining hall for the students on special events due to its massive space, it had seen use as a dining hall on very few occasions; in fact only when new students arrived was it used. The rest of the time students would eat in a smaller communal hall but on special occasions it was simply too small for the sheer amount of food that was prepared for the feasts.

Eragon approached a group of students who were busy moving tables into the dining hall, upon his approach they stopped what they were doing and greeted him. "Please do not let me disturb you from your work I just wanted to know how preparations are going for this evenings feast."

"They go well master, we have nearly finished with the tables and chairs and most of the food has been prepared ready to be cooked for the feast." Replied the dwarf rider nearest to Eragon who was struggling to lift a table that was nearly as tall as him.

"Thank you." Eragon said before he turned to walk away, but after a few steps he had a thought and turned back to face the dwarf, "Do you know where Saphira is?"

"Aye, I saw her flying off about an hour ago, I guess she was hunting." The dwarf puffed as he continued to struggle with the table.

After thanking the rider once again Eragon turned to go and find Blödgharm in order to discuss the feast that his elves were preparing, although the dwarf, human and urgal riders were planning on bringing their own food particularly meat to the feast as they all knew what elven cooking didn't involve.

But before he made it more than 5 paces there was a crash, followed by a cry of "Barzûl!" and an outbreak of laughter from behind and turned to see the same dwarf rider hopping around on one foot grasping the other from where he had lost his battle with the table and one of the legs had fallen on his foot. The other riders were in hysterics with more than one crying from laughter, Eragon himself had to supress his laughter.

Once the dwarf had stopped hopping about and the laughter had subsided somewhat (although many continued to snigger behind their hands). Eragon spoke to the dwarf with a devious smile "Why don't you sit and rest that foot while your comrades take over your work." This quickly ended any remaining sniggering and several riders began to moan.

"No master I am fine." The dwarf said hurriedly as he made his way back to the table to once again resume his battle with it although this time another dwarf also assisted with lifting the table while a human rider picked up the opposite side once more.

This was the response Eragon had wanted and said "Good man." Before giving the dwarf a gentle pat on the back.

"Master! Master! Two dragons are approaching over the ocean!" Came a cry from behind Eragon

Eragon's heart leapt into his mouth, the time had finally come he and Arya would finally be reunited after all these years. Although in the back of his mind there was still doubt, _did she really love him? Or had she just been happy to see an old friend during their conversation in the mirror? _He pushed these thoughts away but could not dispel them completely for the pain of all the rejections came to the forefront of his mind, could he really go through that again if she did not love him. It was then as he saw a green smudge on the horizon that he realised he would regret it for the rest of his life if he did not try once more and also that the pain would be even greater than rejection.

He felt a massive urge to scream about his love at the very top of his voice but retained just enough self-control to stop himself. Instead he watched in silence as the green smudge slowly took on the form of a dragon and a figure became visible on the dragons back and Eragon couldn't help but smile. He had waited 50 years for this moment and now it had finally come.

Eragon suddenly felt a rush of air as Saphira flapped to halt her descent before landing next to Eragon who rubbed her snout and listened to her hum contentedly.

_Today shall be a wonderful day little one._

_Yes it will Saphira, this will be a day we will both cherish for the rest of our lives._

The pair watched in silence as the dragons got closer and closer until yet another gust of wind bombarded the square in which the riders and dragons had gathered and the two dragons touched down.

Arya had landed.

**AN: Hi again guys sorry about this chapter being mainly filler but next chapter will be alot more eventful I promise. Oh and just in case you didn't know trousers are the british word for pants so if any of you americans didn't know that there you are, I'm saying this cos you guys make up the majority of my readers so yeah thanks again new posts coming soon. (Maybe?)  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 7

_This is it Fírnen!_

**AN: Hey guys I'm finally back! Sorry it's been so long since my last update but i've had a mixture of life and just plain laziness preventing me from righting this so sorry for the wait. I'll try to be more consistent with my uploads from now on but i cant guarantee cos i've got GCSE exams coming up and i need to knuckle down for them. Anyway Thanks for everything so far guys whether its reviewing, faviouriting, alerting or even just reading thanks to all of you it really does encourage me. Anyway thanks again guys and sorry once more. **_  
><em>

_Aye this is it Arya, the moment we have both been waiting for these past fifty years._

As Arya watched the island of Du Islinger loom ever larger in front of the two pairs of dragons and riders she could not help but feel apprehensive about what was to come, not just apprehensive about seeing Eragon again but also about landing at the new home of the riders. But she felt just as much pride at the achievements of her generation of riders, how a small number of them had been able to rebuild the rider order like a new-born phoenix from the ashes.

Suddenly Arya snapped back to the present as she felt her ears pop from the change of pressure as Fírnen began his rapid descent towards the ground, clearly eager to be meeting someone.

As she felt the wind rush past her face and felt her hair flap in the air she couldn't help but utter a cry of joy which was reflected by Fírnen's feelings. Arya could think of only one thing she would rather be doing now other than flying with her partner of heart and mind.

Suddenly she felt another change of pressure as Fírnen unfurled his wings and beat them several times to halt his descent about ten feet above the stone courtyard, Arya smiled as she saw everything in the courtyard stare in awe at Fírnen, they were awed by both his terrible beauty that only dragons could possess and gracefulness that was unmatched by any dragon due mainly to his relatively small physique for a dragon of over 50 years of age.

Fírnen tipped his maw back and with a gigantic roar which filled the night sky unleashed a torrent of fire over 70 feet high at the starry sky as if he was trying to burn the stars themselves in their cradle up in the heavens. Before dropping the remaining distance to the ground where both he, Arya, Alassë and Kevalth were greeted by cheers of fevered excitement amongst riders, dragons and elves. Several dragons followed Fírnen's example and sent bursts of fire into the air creating a show that from the air must have looked more magnificent than any other sight imaginable.

Arya nimbly climbed out of her saddle before removing her packs from Fírnen's back with magic.

The second the bags had been removed he let out yet another roar before charging across the courtyard towards Saphira who roared in return and charged towards Fírnen and just visible next to where she had been was the one person Arya wanted to see.

"Alassë, Kevalth come with me to meet your new teacher." Arya called to them struggling to make herself heard over all the other voices in the courtyard.

"Yes master." Called Alassë with an uneasy smile as if she was uncomfortable with her new surroundings.

As a group they managed to make their way through the throng of people until they were but a few steps from Eragon who stood with an emotionless face.

Arya became suddenly uneasy and when she looked in his eyes she could see nothing but coldness.

Eragon took one step forward and said "Atra esterní ono thelduin, Arya Dröttning." His demeanour remaining just as frosty.

Arya was almost too shocked to speak; she had not expected such a cold reaction from Eragon of all people, maybe awkwardness but not outright hostility towards her, it was as if he resented her arrival.

She recovered just enough to say "Atra du evarinya ono varda, Eragon."

All of a sudden like a flip of the coin Eragon's face lit up with pure joy and happiness and he charged across the gap between him and her before wrapping her in a tight embrace as he said.

"It has been too long my friend, I have missed you greatly."

Arya returned the embrace instantly feeling comfortable and also reassured by the fact that Eragon was actually there and this wasn't just a dream. She channelled all her love and joy into this one embrace.

"And I have missed you greatly also Eragon."

The hug seemed to last for hours as Arya felt all her fears and anxieties dissipate in this one hug and wished it could never end, eventually Arya came back to reality and began to release her grip on Eragon, he likewise did the same and they ended up simply staring into each other's eyes, Arya could see the passion and love that burned in his eyes like a fire and she was sure that he could see the same in her eyes. A sudden feeling of fear rose up inside Arya and she looked away and scrambled for something to change the subject.

"Eragon, this is Alassë and Kevalth."

Eragon took a second to register what she was saying and Arya saw a glimmer of disappointment flash across his eyes at the change of subject but was gone almost instantly.

"Welcome Alassë and Kevalth, it is an honour to finally meet in person without the use of magic."

"Thank you Master, it is our honour to be here." Alassë replied while Kevalth dipped his head in a sort of dragon bow with his snout nearly touching the floor.

There was another roar from centre of the courtyard but this roar was a blend of Fírnen and Saphira, their bellowing seemingly intermingling as if they were performing a harmonious duet.

Arya had never heard the like of it before but she realised it was something to be cherished and remembered, something very special that would stay with her forever.

Eragon appeared equally awed and simply stood there with his mouth forming a circle.

_Saphira and I are going for a flight together and may be some time._ Fírnen mentally called out to Arya and began to lift off with Saphira at his side.

Just as Fírnen and Saphira began to glide away from the courtyard he called back, _don't wait up._

As Fírnen and Saphira receded in the distance Arya let out a sigh of contentment for her partner,

_At least one of us is guaranteed a good night. _Arya mused with a forlorn smile on her lips as watched the two dragons.

Eragon seemed to be in a similar state of mind and simply stood silent watching the pair for several moments before he seemed to shake himself out of it and turned to the small group once more.

"I'm sure you are all weary after your long journey and the food shall not be ready for a while yet so may I recommend I show you to your accommodation? You can clean up and relax before the food is served."

Arya nodded an affirmation while Alassë smiled at the thought of a bed and Kevalth began to hum in his response.

Eragon gestured for them to follow as he said,

"Right then if you'll just follow me."

With that he set off at a swift pace that was both dignified and graceful, Arya could not help but think that everything about Eragon seemed graceful, from his toned yet comforting physique to his striking human-elf features.

Arya rather unexpectedly found her cheeks turn slightly red as she had these thoughts but quickly hid this from Eragon and Alassë behind her usual emotionless façade.

As they walked through the somewhat empty streets of the city with its entire population focused around the courtyard and training building, Eragon pointed out various buildings of interest such as the usual dining hall and the egg hall where the majority of the eggs were stored waiting to be sent to Alagaësia to bond with a rider.

As he walked Eragon wore a permanent smile on his face as he talked of the hardships they had conquered. He also took delight in showing them how they had sung parts of the city out of the forest while other sections were inspired by human architecture. Arya could not help think that it reflected Eragon himself with his part human, part elf looks and also the way his mind worked had taken on a certain resemblance to the elves over the years, he seemed one with the world around him and yet he retained those things that made him human.

As they walked through a small street on the boundary of the city Eragon paused in front of a small house that had been sung out of an ancient willow that was both beautiful and understated, Arya knew straight away whose tree house this was.

"This is my little abode." Said Eragon with evident delight and Arya assumed he was remembering when he had shaped the ancient tree to perfection.

After a few moments he once again carried on with his swift strides only to stop at a tree house next to it.

"Arya, this is yours and Fírnen's house, I hope it is satisfactory. I know it must be a step down from your palace in Ellesméra."

The worry in his voice was obvious and told Arya that he and he alone had spent many hours singing this tree that was a pine which made Arya smile. The tree itself looked almost as old as its willow neighbour with spines that crunched under foot and gave a wonderful fragrance that matched Arya's own odour.

"Eragon it is wonderful!" Arya replied with complete sincerity, this tree house would put even the most gifted elf to shame.

She turned to Eragon with a smile.

"Tell me Eragon, when did you become so adept at fashioning trees into houses?"

"It all came with practice." He gestured to all the buildings around him "With all this practice it was bound to come good by the time it came to creating this one."

Arya laughed and began to stride towards her door which was set behind a small garden set away from the cobble road.

"I shall come for you when the feast is prepared." Eragon called after her as she opened the door.

Arya sensed Eragon linger for a second as if he wanted to say or do something. But after a second he shook himself free and strode off to show Alassë and Kevalth to their house a few trees down.

Now it was Arya's turn to linger as she watched Eragon stride off sharing a joke or two with Alassë who seemed slightly awed in his presence as if she were staring upon some divine being not of this world. Arya chuckled before turning reluctantly away and moving into her new home to prepare for the feast.

* * *

><p>Eragon chuckled as Alassë told the story of how once during their one to one lessons Arya had lifted up a ball of water above her head before being distracted by an argument breaking out between two riders and had the entire ball drop onto her head soaking her to the skin.<p>

Eragon was amused not only by the image of Arya soaking wet and fuming from her mistake but also by the fact that even one as wise as Arya was not impervious to mistakes.

He was also pleased by Alassë, she seemed to be a happy person confident in her abilities but not arrogant, and she would make the perfect student. Kevalth also would be a very good student, he was clearly much quieter than Alassë preferring to allow her to answer most questions but also had a great deal of wisdom for someone so young.

As they had left to clean and rest Eragon found himself at a loss about what to do, part of him wanted to stay as close to Arya as possible so the moment he received a message from Blödgharm that the feast was ready he could rush to Arya's door in order to maximise his amount of time with her. While the more mature part of him knew he should go check on preparations himself as was his responsibility as head rider.

After a few moments of indecision he decided to go check on the preparations and lend a hand where it was needed.

As he once again made his way through the city his thoughts continuously strayed to one person, Arya. How could he convey his love to her once again after he had been rejected so often? Should he just come out and say it like the times before? Or should he try to get her to reveal her feelings first? He was fairly sure now about her feelings for him, but what if he was wrong yet again?

Where was Saphira when he needed her? He could do with her counsel and reassurance. If there was one thing he had learnt over the years it was that a dragons counsel was best heeded as it was rarely wrong.

Once he arrived at the training/banquet hall he immediately set to work assisting his fellow riders with preparing the food and for the next hour or so he continued to help with the preparations in silence happy to dwell on his thoughts as many things flashed through his mind.

Suddenly a great cheer rang out that tore Eragon away from his thoughts and he quickly realised that the feast was finally ready.

The riders and elves who had been working hard all day to prepare the feast looked as if they were about to pounce on the food at any moment.

"Well done my riders and elves you have well and truly outdone yourselves today and have earned this feast." Eragon paused as another cheer rang around the hall. "But before we can commence with the feast I must go and collect our guests to whom this feast is dedicated." Boos quickly replaced the cheering although it was still good natured and brought a smile to Eragons lips.

Eragon quickly headed back off to collect their guests anxious to both collect Arya and appease his hungry riders and elves.

Once he reached Arya's house he paused for a second before the door and took a deep breath before knocking.

After a moment the door swung open to reveal Arya in an exquisite green top with dark green leggings.

**AN: Again more thing guys feel free to review as feedback and tips are most appreciated. Thanks! **


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hi guys finally I'm back! Sorry for the ridiculously long time since my last update I've had a mixture of exams, writers block and laziness on my part. I have exams for another few weeks so don't expect regular updates although I may go through the older chapters and edit them. But once again sorry about the lack of updates. feel free to review it does encourage me. Thanks!**

Arya had to suppress a laugh as Eragon's face flushed red and his mouth dropped so far a pinecone could be shoved in without even touching a tooth, instead she just gave a tight smile which gave nothing away.

After a moment Eragon realised his mouth was wide open and quickly closed it although he could do nothing to hide his blushes which grew even larger.

"Arya, you look… Exquisite." Eragon blurted out as if he had no control over himself, his face turned so red she thought he might explode.

For the first time Arya observed his clothing and found herself slightly stunned herself, in his shining silver trousers and dark blue shirt he looked every bit as handsome as he had looked that day fifty years ago when they parted company. It was now her turn to blush.

"You don't look too bad yourself Eragon."

"Aye, not too bad for a human nearing his seventies." Eragon replied with a chuckle.

For a few seconds they simply stared into each other's eyes and Arya once again saw the passion and love in his eyes, but this time it was Eragon who broke away from the contact.

"Come, we must fetch Alassë and Kevalth and return to the feast as quickly as possible before the riders and elves become any more restless and start without us."

With that he turned away from Arya and strode off in the direction of Kevalth and Alassë's tree house. Arya quickly closed her door behind her and rushed to catch up with Eragon.

"Would they really start the feast without you?" Arya asked surprised that Eragon's orders would be ignored by his students.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past Blödgharm to organise a mutiny of the feast." Eragon said with a smile, Arya laughed at the thought of them arriving at the feast to find all the food devoured by a group of mutinous riders and elves.

They arrived at Alassë and Kevalth's tree house which was a willow almost identical to Eragon's except that it was clearly much younger as it's trunk wasn't gnarled and twisted by the passage of time. Arya thought this was right that the older generation of riders such as her and Eragon had ancient trees while the young generation of riders had young trees yet to experience the struggles and hardships of life much like their occupants.

Eragon knocked and waited for a few moments before Alassë opened the door and stepped out wearing an exquisite silver dress with her starlight hair flowing down her back. Meanwhile Kevalth jumped from his platform where he could enter the house from and slammed down upon the floor with a huge thump that shook the very ground beneath their feet.

"Hello Masters is it time for the feast?" Alassë asked.

"Yes it is so if you all just follow me and we can begin this feast." Eragon replied

So they set off on their short walk to the training/banquet hall where undoubtedly a throng of elves and riders awaited their arrival that would signal the start of the feast.

They fell into silence with each of them wrapped in their own thoughts, Arya and Eragon walking side by side while Alassë and Kevalth strolled along a few paces behind probably engaged in a private conversation in their minds. During the silence Arya could not help but let her thoughts stray towards Eragon and found herself glancing sidelong at him as trying to discern why he was being so distant during the walk. But when she thought about it she couldn't help but think that she was acting slightly distant as well.

She decided that he was probably just looking ahead to the feast and with great effort turned her thoughts away from Eragon and began to study the buildings once more intrigued by how they were a blend of elven and human architecture, even the tree houses had a certain human touch to them with more straight lines and edges than were typical of elven architecture.

After a minute or two Arya had the feeling that Eragon was looking at her but when she turned her head she found Eragon staring straight ahead.

They were now passing through a small courtyard, a single solitary oak at its centre with the hall looming large in front of them.

"Here we are." He announced

Without further ado he stepped inside and the cacophony of noise inside the hall died down almost instantly, it was replaced by an air of expectancy that Arya could feel even from outside the hall.

With a deep breath she walked beneath the huge arch entrance to the hall which had two huge oak doors pulled wide open, as she stepped inside Arya couldn't help but feel as though the tree the doors had come from must have been enormous, possibly rivalling the giant Menoa tree in Du Weldenvarden even.

Arya had a look at the walls and ceiling of the hall and saw the same mix of human and elven architecture as the rest of the city, the main difference between this building and others that she had seen was the fact that this building was built entirely of stone. While every other stone building she had seen was at least partially made up of trees entwined into the stonework this hall had not a single tree entwined in its walls, instead the pillars inside the hall were stone that had been intricately shaped to look like trees. In fact they were so detailed that if not for their grey stone colour Arya would have sworn that they were real, it was as if a moment in time had been captured and sculpted to perfection, even the leaves looked to be caught in a breeze.

Arya was wrenched back to reality as Eragon began to address everyone, "My riders and elves we are having this feast today to celebrate the arrival of rider Alassë and her dragon Kevalth as well as rider and elven queen Arya Dröttning and her dragon Fírnen."

"Please Eragon, I do not wish for things to be so formal here. For the duration of my stay I wish simply to be known as Rider Arya not the elven queen." Arya interjected addressing the entire audience. She turned back to Eragon who smiled approvingly.

"Where is greenscales?" Came a cry from somewhere in the body of people.

Eragon and Arya both blushed at this question and Arya thought Eragon would simply ignore the question but was surprised when he answered.

"He is currently catching up with Saphira." Eragon replied with a faint smile upon his face.

In response to this there was a great deal of whooping, roaring and applause with more than one comment made which turned the tips of Arya's ears red, these comments mainly came from dwarves and humans while the elves stood either joining in with the cheering or smiling serenely.

Once the cheering finally died down and Eragon was able to get everyone to return to their chairs – or in the dragons case their half of the hall – he guided Arya and Alassë to their seats which were either side of his at the centre of the table.

Suddenly another set of doors at the far end of the hall were thrown open and a few riders pulled out huge trays filled with meat for the dragons which was swiftly distributed. Suddenly with the arrival of food the dragon end of the hall descended into chaos with dragons pouncing onto their meals of deer and sheep, Arya couldn't help but laugh as one poor dwarf was nearly squashed as a yellow dragon pounced upon its meal.

A few moments later the food for the riders and elves was wheeled out and Arya was astonished by the sheer amount of food. Eragon noticed her look of astonishment and laughed.

"Some of these riders have a rather large appetite."

"Yes they must have to eat this much food." Arya replied as she laughed.

As the feast got underway Arya was pleased to see that Eragon didn't select any meat and stuck to the vegetable, bread and fruit meals that were mostly elven. When she thought about it she guessed she shouldn't be too surprised as Eragon had taken on an elven viewpoint on many things so why not this one.

After a while the vast amounts of ale had been consumed – thanks in no small part to the dragons who couldn't seem to get enough of the stuff – and the majority of the food had disappeared down the throats of the feasters.

Suddenly a few elves stood up and pulled wooden flutes and pipes from their pockets and began to play a soothing tune that washed over Arya. The tune was one of peace and tranquillity, Arya found herself thinking back to Du Weldenvarden and its seemingly infinite forest which offered sanctuary from the troubles of the world. Soon something new came into the tune and Arya found herself emerging from her imaginary forest back into the hall and saw that an elf with a harp and a man with a lute had joined in the tune and a sort of battle for supremacy was waged between the wind and string instruments. As the battle continued the tempo of the tune began to increase as if the battle was escalating and each note began to merge into another.

As the tempo reached a peak the monotonous boom of a drum entered the battle and Arya turned to see that a dwarf had a small drum and was beating it at a furious rate. Just as Arya thought that the tune was beginning to slow once more an urgal horn sounded and encouraged the beat to once again increase in tempo however this time the horn and drum were much quieter and seemed to create a base on which the other instruments built and expanded upon.

Soon several riders rose to their feet, they quickly found partners and began to dance; some dancers took the dance somewhat seriously while others seemed to dance simply for amusement. (Both for their own amusement and that of those watching)

Arya couldn't help but chuckle as she saw a tiny female dwarf prance about the dance floor with a kull who looked as out of place as a bear in a royal court.

After a few minutes of watching the dance Arya realised that Eragon was staring at her, she turned to face him and he opened his mouth as if to begin speaking but quickly blushed and turned away to watch the dance once more. Arya studied his face for a few seconds before following his gaze towards the dancers and instantly worked out what he was going to ask her.

"Eragon, would you like to dance?" Arya asked

"I…uh…um…would love to." Eragon stuttered and gave a weak smile.

He stood and put his hand out to her.

"Shall we?" Eragon said with a slightly bolder smile.

Arya placed her hand in his and felt the soft touch of his warm hand and for a second lost herself and felt a deep longing inside her, she felt a wave of emotions wash over her and her brain was flooded with so many different thoughts about him that she thought she might explode.

Eragon then pulled her up from the chair and led her over to the dance floor before placing his free hand on her waist while continuing to hold her hand in his, she placed her free hand on his shoulder and they locked eyes while beginning their dance. As they danced Arya lost all awareness of what was going on around her, she was focused solely on Eragon and he on her, so absorbed was she that she failed to notice that all the other dancers had vacated the floor leaving her and Eragon to dance alone. For all she knew the music may have been playing for hours but while staring into his face she lost all sense of time, aware only of him and how close they were.

She gripped his hand even tighter and felt him tighten his grip in return. Around and around they spun in a seemingly never-ending dance which neither of them was willing to stop, instead of breaking apart they moved closer and closer together until her chest was brushing against his and their faces were mere centimetres apart.

Suddenly Arya realised that the music had stopped, how long ago had it stopped? Arya's cheeks slightly flushed at the thought of them dancing to no music for minutes or possibly hours for all she knew.

Eragon also seemed to only just become aware of the lack of music and began to release his grip on her hand. She did the same but could see the bitterness and regret on his face even though he hid it well. Arya doubted anyone else in the hall could notice it. Suddenly she realised that everyone in the hall was still watching them as if expecting something else.

Arya suddenly became very self-conscious, what would they think of her and the head rider? An elf and a human? So many such thoughts raced through her mind at once and Arya felt so very inadequate.

Arya turned back to face Eragon and he gave her a comforting smile, she suddenly felt her worries fall away and began to relax.

_Why should I care what they think of me and Eragon?_

She felt her body lose its tenseness and she regained control of her breathing, releasing a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She grabbed his hand once again and began to lead him out of the hall.

"Where are we going?" Eragon asked looking confused and surprised.

"We need to talk." She replied.

Arya led him away from the light that spilled out of the hall towards the oak that stood sentry over the courtyard. Once they were under the bough of the tree she sat releasing his hand and motioned for him to do the same.

He sat and began, "Arya I-."

"Eragon," She interrupted before taking both his hands in hers. "There is no point in hiding this anymore, I love you Eragon and have done for these past fifty years. My biggest regret was always hiding from the truth, I hid so well that it took me years to realise it. I regret so much that I never told you this before but I am so grateful that I now have a second chance to say what I should have said all those years ago…I love you." Arya began to feel tears fall down her cheeks, but these were not tears of sorrow but tears of joy and relief that she had finally said those words that she had so wished to say for years.

"Arya I love you too." Eragon replied as he pulled her into a deep embrace. Arya nestled her face into his chest, she felt Eragon shift his head until his mouth was next to her ear and in a barely audible whisper spoke a sentence in the ancient language. Arya felt her entire being shiver and she raised her face away from his chest until she was looking into his eyes and whispered a sentence of her own. This time it was Eragon who shivered and Arya felt the vibrations against her body. She moved her face towards his and he did the same until their lips met and as they kissed Arya couldn't remember feeling more satisfied.

**AN: One more thing guys, I just wanted to say that i have never written romance before so I really struggled with this chapter so please give pointers on ways to improve it and tell me what you think of it by either reviewing or PM. Hope you liked the chapter more on the way... eventually. :(**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hi guys how's it going? At least its only been about a week and a half since I last updated which is better than a month I suppose anyway hope you enjoy and leave a review to tell me what you think.**

Eragon awoke to the sounds of birds and the sun bursting through a slit in the curtains, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and slowly his mind began to unravel as if a fog was lifting and slowly things began to return to Eragon. Arya finally admitting her love for him and the kiss, Eragon recalled the feeling of unmatched joy and happiness.

Suddenly Eragon remembered what else had happened last night although it was still relatively hazy as if he was looking through an unfocused telescope. He remembered them going back to Arya's pine tree house and her pulling out a flask of the special faelnirv they had shared once after the capture of Dras-leona.

"You remember this don't you?" Arya had said.

"Aye, how could I forget? The strangest drink I have ever had." Eragon had replied with a wry smile.

They had quickly drunk the contents and Eragon felt the same feelings of giddiness and could once again see the strange shapes and light dancing across his vision, unlike last time he didn't panic but embraced and enjoyed the strange and unusual sensations that the faelnirv brought on and for a while they seemed content to just sit in silence on a large chair with Arya's head resting on his shoulder while they let the faelnirv take control of their senses.

Suddenly Arya had stood up and began to lead Eragon to the large bed which dominated the room with one hand while she removed her green top with the other. Eragon went to pull his shirt over his head but realised that the faelnirv made it difficult to control his limbs with any degree of accuracy and it had taken several attempts before he had finally managed to grab his shirt and pull it over his head. Once he had the shirt off he was immediately greeted by a now completely naked Arya's lips against his as she began to unbutton his trousers.

Once she had succeeded in removing his trousers she had pulled him onto the bed and there Eragon had had all his hopes and desires fulfilled.

_Morning little one._ Saphira said with a tone filled with joy and contentment. It didn't take a genius to figure out why she would be in this mood.

_Morning Saphira. _Eragon replied but couldn't help notice that his mental voice sounded quieter than normal because of his massive headache he had from all the ale he had drunk the previous night.

_I gather from your memories that you had an interesting evening._ Saphira said.

_Saphira! I don't go through your personal memory of stuff like that so why do you do it to me?_

Saphira gave a mental shrug of indifference before replying _I did not mean to it's just as I opened our link your feelings were so strong that your memories came to me unbidden. Trust me I did not wish to see a two legs breeding process any more than you would wish to witness a dragons!_

Eragon felt his cheeks glow red at the word breeding as if the whole process of love to simply create the next generation and the word breeding made Eragon think of cattle.

_That may be how dragons view it as simply breeding to create the next generations but for us so called 'two legs' it is about much more than that._

_I don't dispute that Eragon but ultimately the point of this process is to create the next generation is it not? _Saphira countered.

Eragon could not think up a response so he simply said nothing. Saphira mentally laughed knowing that she had outsmarted Eragon as she seemed to do in the vast majority of their arguments.

_Why is it that you are always right and I am always wrong? _Eragon said with a slightly sulky tone.

_Eragon, you are not some little hatchling so stop acting like one. _Came Saphira's sharp reply. _ Fírnen and I are going for a hunt and we should be back by noon._

With that she severed their link and Eragon was once again left to dwell on his own thoughts until he felt something warm and soft shift and cuddle close to him, he turned his head to see the sleeping figure of Arya pressed against his and her head resting on his arm while one of her arms was now draped across his chest from where she had rolled over almost on top of him. He slowly shifted his arm away from her head which he carefully placed it down on the pillow, with his arm now free Eragon attempted to get up but found that as he began to sit up Arya clung onto him like a limpet while mumbling something incoherent. No matter what he did he could not dislodge her without being forced to wake her up so instead he simply laid back down and was once again lost in his own thoughts.

After a short while Eragon turned to face Arya and was surprised to see that her eyes were open and she was gazing at him with the same intensity he was sure he was looking at her with. Arya smiled before lifting her head from the pillow and giving Eragon a light kiss on the lips.

"How long have you been awake for?" Eragon asked.

"Only a few minutes, have you heard from Fírnen or Saphira?"

"Saphira said a while ago that they were going hunting and that they would be back by noon."

"What is the time now?" Arya asked.

Eragon rolled out of the bed and walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains to see that the sun was already a quarter of the way across the sky. He uttered a short string of curses before running across the room and grabbing his discarded clothes that were strewn all over the floor. He then proceeded to hop about attempting to pull his trousers on while simultaneously trying to put his head through the hole of his shirt.

Arya meanwhile simply lay in the bed with a look of amusement on her face, eventually she asked,

"Why are you in such a rush?"

"Because I am supposed to be teaching a group of riders right now and I still need to run back to my tree house to get changed!" Eragon replied as he quickly strode over to Arya and gave her a quick kiss.

"I'll see you later so enjoy your day and do whatever you want, sorry." Eragon said as he jogged out the room before shutting the door behind him and running next door to his tree house.

When he reached the house he noticed a message had been pinned to his door he pulled it off and read:

_ Eragon, I am leaving this note to let you know that you needn't worry about attending today's morning training as I assumed you would be indisposed judging by the events of last night and the fact that you either didn't open the door this morning or were not here to open the door. So enjoy a morning off and have a chance to catch up with Arya some more and we will see the pair of you at the afternoon lessons. Blödgharm_

Eragon let out a sigh that Blödgharm was covering for him and he didn't have to rush around all the time.

"You're a good friend Blödgharm." Eragon muttered to himself as he opened his door and walked up the stairs at sedate pace enjoying the fact that he didn't have to rush about for once.

Slowly as he reached the top of the stairs and entered his bedroom it began to dawn on him that if Blödgharm knew so much about what had transpired between himself and Arya then surely everyone would know something of what was going on. How would the elves react to the fact that a human was in a relationship with their queen? He may be the head rider and a human-elf hybrid but he was still a human at heart. Would the elves view him as sullying the royal bloodline with his blood if offspring were born or would they accept it? Eragon doubted they would accept this wholesale and could only hope that the elves opposed to a relationship between him and Arya would be in the minority compared to those who accepted it. Eragon was not worried about the elves on Du Islinger as they were all friends of his and fiercely loyal to him, (especially the elves he had fought alongside in the war against Galbatorix) but word would eventually spread to the elves of Alagaësia and then things would become complicated.

Eragon decided to stop worrying about those sorts of things for the moment and would talk to Arya about it at some point. So he set about cleaning himself and getting a change of clothes which he could wear later during training, a pair of black breeches along with a grey shirt and his worn leather boots.

After he had finished changing he decided to go back to Arya's tree house and take her to the food hall for a late breakfast.

So he once again set about walking back along the path to Arya's and knocking on her door. After a few seconds the door opened to reveal a slightly surprised Arya. But being Arya she quickly recovered and opened the door fully for Eragon to walk inside and set off back up the stairs before calling back.

"I'll be a few more minutes if you want to wait."

So Eragon sat down in a small chair that was set aside in the hallway and waited a short while for Arya.

When she walked down the stairs dressed in her usual attire of dark leather she asked,

"Why aren't you rushing about getting to your lesson with your riders?"

"Blödgharm left a note saying that he would cover the morning training."

"The head rider reliant on an elf to teach his classes." Arya said with a teasing tone.

Eragon simply chuckled before saying, "So would you like to get a late breakfast?"

"Yes, that would be perfect."

So with great gusto Eragon opened the door and in a humorously pompous way held out his arm for Arya while a roguish smile spread across his face. Arya laughed and placed her hand on his arm and allowed him to lead her out the house.

After a short while they both by an unspoken mutual agreement stopped with their over the top pompous act and began to simply walk hand in hand to the food hall which was on the far side of the city from their tree houses however neither of them cared about the long walk and seemed content just to be in each other's company.

When they finally reached the food hall they found it almost completely empty, which was to be expected when almost everyone on the island was supposed to be training. The only people in the hall were Alassë and the male dwarf rider named Harek who had dropped the table onto his foot during the preparations for the feast. They were engaged in an animated conversation, as Eragon got nearer he realised that Harek was telling one of his many stories. Harek had gained quite the reputation for telling stories since he and his dragon Adelinde arrived on the island a few years before and was often in high demand for his story telling abilities.

As the pair noticed the presence of Eragon and Arya they stopped their conversation.

"Greetings masters." They both said simultaneously and Eragon could not help notice that they both looked slightly uncomfortable in the presence of himself and Arya. It wasn't the normal awkwardness of being in the presence of your teacher but something else and Eragon could imagine what that something else was.

"Hello, how are you two doing after yesterday's feast?" Eragon asked.

"I am fine thank you master. I didn't drink much and I left the feast not long after you and Arya departed." Alassë answered although as soon as she said the last bit she realised she shouldn't have and the tips of her ears turned red.

"What about you Harek? And why are you not training today?" Eragon said choosing to ignore Alassë's embarrassment.

"The table broke my toe yesterday," Harek said motioning to his foot "and although one of the elves healed it, she said not to do anything physical for a few days as the bone may still be slightly weak."

"I see, yes take a few days off training such as swordsmanship but you should be able to do magic training yes?"

"Yes master that should be fine."

"Good, anyway Harek do you mind if me and Arya have a private conversation with Alassë?"

"Of course master, I'll see you later Alassë and I'll finish off the story another time." Harek said before turning to walk out of the hall

"See you Harek." Alassë called out before he exited from the hall.

"You seem to be getting on well with Harek." Arya commented.

"Yeah but he seems pretty happy to talk to anyone who will listen especially if he can tell one of his stories." Alassë said with a slightly subdued tone.

"You miss Hartwin don't you?" Arya said with a sympathetic voice.

"Yes, he's the best friend I've ever had and I just wish he was here with me." Alassë said with remorse thick in her voice.

"He'll join you here eventually." Arya said.

"Where is Kevalth this morning?" Eragon asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"He is hunting with Adelinde."

Silence descended upon the trio and Eragon decided to break it by asking the elves what they wanted to eat before heading off to make the breakfast of bread that had been freshly baked that morning with jam they made from one of the islands many exotic plants which they had yet to name.

As he walked back into the hall he found the two elves chatting, once he set the tray down they sat and Eragon explained a few things about training and the island's layout.

Eventually once they had finished the food Eragon thought it was time to address the issue with Alassë.

"Alassë, I was wondering if you could tell me about the voice in your head?" Eragon asked hesitant about how to broach the subject.

As if reading his thoughts Alassë said "Don't worry about asking me master, I don't mind talking about it especially if it is with someone who may have an explanation for it."

She then went on to describe what it was like to have the voice inside her, how it was a part of her and what receiving energy from it was like. The whole while Eragon sat in silence taking in the information and waiting for her to finish her description.

Once Alassë had finished her tale Eragon remained silent for a few moments to digest the information.

"I think I understand what the voice is like but if you would allow it I would like to look at your memory as Arya has to fully comprehend it."

"Yes of course master but only things which I deem relevant."

"Yes of course I would not dream of intruding on personal memories if you do not wish for me to see them." Eragon said while giving a reassuring smile he hoped would quell any of Alassë's worries. "Ready?"

"Ready." Alassë confirmed

With that Eragon stretched his mind outwards until he reached Alassë's mind and entered into the symphony of music that filled the young elves mind, something that would turn almost any human mad but after being made partially elf and having spent many years around elves Eragon had no worries about his own sanity. So he pressed on through Alassë's mind following a linear route through memories that Alassë had left open for him to view, he looked through every memory and took time to Analyse what happened and how it felt. Eventually he came to the conclusion that the way energy was supplied was not so very different from the way eldunari or Saphira could supply energy to him through a link however the way the presence was inside Alassë was completely new to Eragon, the strange thing was that Eragon could feel the presence of the voice however he could never pinpoint it.

Eragon was just about to exit Alassë's mind one of her mental barriers dropped for a fraction of a second and Eragon caught a glimpse of a memory without even meaning to, it was Alassë's mother before she committed suicide and in that split second he saw how much Alassë's mother loathed her life and in fact herself and felt pity for both Alassë's mother and for Alassë herself at having grown up under such dire circumstances.

When Eragon finally exited Alassë's mind he tried to pretend that he had seen nothing about Alassë's mother.

"Thank you for letting me see your memories." Eragon said

"its fine master so what do you know about it?" Alassë asked

"I have one or two ideas but I can't really be sure just yet I will have to see how the voice assists you first hand in training." Eragon said trying to sound confident and not as perplexed as he felt.

"Yes master, when do I start training?"

"Tomorrow, I'll test you in swordsmanship and magic and that should indicate your ability as well as allow us to gather information on the voice." Eragon said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice.

"So enjoy the rest of your day and relax. Maybe go explore the island a bit with Kevalth when he gets back from his hunt." Arya interjected in a voice that was kind while also a clear dismissal, something Eragon could only assume she picked up during her time as queen.

Once Alassë had departed Arya turned to Eragon and asked.

"What did you really think?" Arya's voice was like a whisper but from her tone it was clear that she wanted a straight answer.

"I couldn't really figure anything out other than the way the voice supplies energy to Alassë and Kevalth is similar to the eldunari."

"That's all you could figure out? We need to know exactly what the voice is Eragon and more importantly why it assists Alassë." Arya's tone was even and yet she was clearly frustrated and angry at Eragon for not having an answer.

"With time I'm sure we will figure something out." Eragon said with a weak smile.

Inside however Eragon was feeling less than optimistic.

**AN:Hello again just wanted to say that I find romantic chapters take me a lot longer to write than other chapters (This one took about 7 hours work) anyway I would really appreciate reviews especially if you have any tips and i'm thinking maybe i'll do a few chapters from Alasse's point of view as she's had very little action in the last few chapters. Ok thanks guys new chapter up soon...ish.**


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